Last Updated on August 6, 2023, 2:50 AM | Published: January 30, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) – Community leaders, activists, and local law enforcement departments came together Sunday night for a community forum to discuss police violence in the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death.
The two-hour-long discussion at the Tower Theatre in OKC was largely sparked by the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers during a traffic stop earlier this month.
The event was hosted by community activist Jabee Williams, Councilwoman Nikki Nice, civil rights leader Marilyn Luper-Hildreth, Pastor Derrick Scobey, and LiveFree OKC co-director Jess Eddy. Council members James Cooper and JoBeth Hamon were also among the panelists.
Chiefs and representatives of local police agencies, including Oklahoma City, Moore, Midwest City, and Edmond joined the discussion to address the community’s concerns and questions regarding police violence and accountability.
Police Reform in OKC
According to data collected by a nationwide public evaluation Police Scorecard, “a Black person is 5.1 times as likely, and a Latinx person was 1.1 times as likely to be killed by police as a White person in Oklahoma City from 2013-2021.”
After the high-profile police killing of George Floyd, and massive protests in the metro, the OKC City Council began a process and promised implementation of 39 recommendations from 21CP solutions, an outside firm that helps communities and law enforcement re-imagine public safety. The recommendations focus on de-escalation, an alternative response to mental health, community engagement, and accountability.
Now, questions remain in the community and among some City Council members about just how much the City of Oklahoma City Council has tried to implement the recommendations.
But, some chiefs blame the police union for how slowly reforms have been happening.
‘Our hands are tied’
Chief of Police for the City of Moore Todd Gibson spoke candidly about why it may be difficult, as a chief of police, to take immediate action when a police officer’s integrity is in doubt due to binding contracts with the Fraternal Order of Police.
“We need to look at other avenues whether it be through arbitration laws or other legislative measures that give these chiefs who want that accountability, who plead for that accountability within their organization so that we can put a stop to before it happens,” Gibson said. “Because oftentimes, inside, we know what’s going on but our hands are tied by such litigious internal systems.”
Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley added to Gibson’s’ point, saying that he believes this is a flaw in the system, and it’s an issue that needs more attention.
“We, as Chiefs, all the time have to sit up here and answer these questions, but the union doesn’t,” Gourley said. “It’s very frustrating to me, it’s very frustrating to my command staff when we try to hold our people accountable.”
After hearing what the chiefs of police said about the Union, Hamon, the OKC City Council member, said it’s worth noting that city and state elected officers seek out endorsements from the FOP.
“If you’re looking at somebody that you might vote for and they’re endorsed by that group, I think it’s worth exploring and asking that person “Why?,” Hamon said. “Because if we can’t have nuanced conversations about public safety, we’re not going to get anywhere.”
‘How do we file a complaint?’
The officers were asked how citizens go about filing a complaint against a police officer when they’ve acted unprofessionally.
In Oklahoma City, here’s how citizens can file a complaint against a police officer:
- Contact 911 and ask to speak to a supervisor.
- File a formal complaint by filling out a Formal Citizen Complaint Form with the OKCPD, in-person or online.
- According to Gourley, informal complaints on social media are investigated as well.
“If you have a complaint or if you have an issue please, please say something,” said Major Charles Avery with Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office. “Because if there’s something going on and you don’t tell us, we don’t know how to fix it.”
‘We need to have hard conversations’
The conversation grew intense when the mothers of two teens, who were killed by police officers in Oklahoma City and Edmond spoke out to law enforcement about the injustice they’d experienced by their departments.
Vicki Lewis, the mother of 17-year-old Isaiah Lewis, who was shot and killed by Edmond police officers in 2019, is still fighting for justice for her family.
“Our effect is lifelong,” Lewis said. “Because I have a lifelong sentence of every holiday, every anniversary, birthday that my son is missing and unnecessarily so.”
Cameo Holland (feature photo,) mother of 15-year-old Stavian Rodriguez who was shot 13 times by OKC police officers responding to an armed robbery on the south side. Holland spoke directly to Chief Gourley to express her “disgust” with his response to the situation in Memphis.
“I guess when it’s five Black police officers that live hundreds of miles away that do atrocious things… And the things that they did result in the unnecessary death of somebody’s child, you condemn that,” Holland said. “But when something similarly atrocious happens right here and it’s five white police officers that are a part of your police department, what do you do? You deny any wrongdoing.”
Gourley did not respond to her comments.
Holland was referring to a statement that has been pinned to the top of the OKCPD Facebook page and has been posted on their Twitter account.
Two students from Oklahoma City Public Schools and Assistant Principal Rodney Cox also took the opportunity to speak on the injustice they’ve felt by the police response, or lack thereof, during the forum.
Cox asked each police chief individually if they can commit to opening up a forum in OKC public schools, at least twice a school year, in order to foster a better relationship with students.
All the officers seemed to agree, except for Midwest City Chief J.D. Younger, who didn’t give a direct answer to the question even when pressed multiple times to give a straight answer by Cox and some audience members.
Nice said she and the other leaders plan to continue the conversations with another forum in the future and will give more information on that as it comes.
Click here to view the full forum.
Brianna Garcia is a freelance journalist covering local politics and culture for Free Press. She has a degree in Journalism from the University of Central Oklahoma.
